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Scan-ability: Difference between revisions
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[[Blog_Writing_for_College_Students|Home]] | [[Blog_Writing_for_College_Students|Home]] | ||
[[File:Banner-blindness-examples.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Scan-ability demonstrated in an eyetrack study, found in Jakob Nielsen's article about Banner Blindness]] | [[File:Banner-blindness-examples.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Scan-ability demonstrated in an eyetrack study, found in Jakob Nielsen's article about Banner Blindness]] | ||
Scan-ability refers to the ability of readers to scan a text. Scan-ability and | Scan-ability refers to the ability of readers to scan a text. Scan-ability and readability are concepts that work together to encourage users to read your blog. | ||
There are a number of different reasons why online readers scan first instead of read.<ref>Nielsen, "Why Web Users Scan Instead of Reading"</ref> Writers of digital media must pay special attention to scan-ability because readers of digital writing are known to be easily distracted, impatient, and unwilling to read huge blocks of text. | There are a number of different reasons why online readers scan first instead of read.<ref>Nielsen, "Why Web Users Scan Instead of Reading"</ref> Writers of digital media must pay special attention to scan-ability because readers of digital writing are known to be easily distracted, impatient, and unwilling to read huge blocks of text. | ||
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====Brief summary paragraphs==== | ====Brief summary paragraphs==== | ||
Digital writing needs to be concise to ensure that readers will read the entirety of the text. In addition to making sure you write with the [[Inverted Pyramid| | Digital writing needs to be concise to ensure that readers will read the entirety of the text. In addition to making sure you write with the [[Inverted Pyramid|Inverted Pyramid]] in mind, you should also stick to one idea per paragraph. Typically, users will move on from a paragraph if they are not impressed by the first few words. Using one idea per paragraph keeps your writing focused and maintains brevity. | ||
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====Bulleted lists==== | ====Bulleted lists==== | ||
Posts organized with bulleted lists work at capturing the attention of readers while simultaneously converting large blocks of text into smaller and more manageable bits. Susan Gunelius suggests that writers of digital media, "Use lists whenever you can to break up long blocks of text."<ref>Gunelius, "7 Tips to Writing a Blog Post That's Scannable"</ref> Breaking down these larger posts encourages scanning. | Posts organized with bulleted [[lists | lists]] work at capturing the attention of readers while simultaneously converting large blocks of text into smaller and more manageable bits. Susan Gunelius suggests that writers of digital media, "Use lists whenever you can to break up long blocks of text."<ref>Gunelius, "7 Tips to Writing a Blog Post That's Scannable"</ref> Breaking down these larger posts encourages scanning. | ||
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====Audio and video clips==== | ====Audio and video clips==== | ||
When including video and audio clips in layering of a blog post, they should not be very long. Brian Carroll writes, "Short clips usually are preferred . . . to minimize download times, to mitigate streaming interruptions, and because of interactors' punishingly short attention spans."<ref>Carroll, 42</ref> Photo slideshows also allow writers of digital media to include multimedia elements that aid in promoting | When including video and audio clips in layering of a blog post, they should not be very long. Brian Carroll writes, "Short clips usually are preferred . . . to minimize download times, to mitigate streaming interruptions, and because of interactors' punishingly short attention spans."<ref>Carroll, 42</ref> Photo slideshows also allow writers of digital media to include multimedia elements that aid in promoting scan-ability. | ||
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